Prince Charming
by Jen1008
Summary: Elena had several flashbacks to her relationship with Bianca in the episode “Once Lost”, but one flashback was missing…especially since they introduced the plot point about Carlos hitting Elena. Missing scene "Once Lost", season seven. Danny-Elena D/E


A/N: Missing scene fic for Once Lost, Elena-centric episode in season seven of Without a Trace. This is one more flashback to Elena and Bianca's friendship, where Elena talks to Bianca about her new relationship with Danny Taylor.

* * *

As Elena walked quickly back to her desk, her eyes glanced in the direction of Danny's desk. He wasn't there. He and Martin were likely still interviewing their latest suspect. She knew that Danny had been concerned about her when he'd called her while she was still at the hospital and she'd been short with him. She just wasn't used to having someone like Danny in her life. Even the men she dated before Carlos hadn't been prizes. She'd had a habit of picking men who were projects…men she would have to fix in some way. But that wasn't Danny – he was no project. He'd had the strength and will to fix himself long ago.

When Elena had first told Bianca about Danny, Bianca was more than skeptical since she knew that he and Carlos were friends at one time. But Elena remembered when she finally convinced Bianca that Danny was different.

"_So how's Prince Charming?" Bianca asked sarcastically after taking a sip of her martini. _

_Elena had met her for a drink. They hadn't seen much of each other lately. After Elena had gotten back together with Danny, things got busy and she hadn't been able to touch base with Bianca in ages. Finally, they arranged to meet one Friday after work._

_Rolling her eyes, Elena responded, "You say that like you don't like him. Danny is a really good guy. Sophie adores him. He treats me—"_

"_He was Carlo's friend for years," Bianca cut her off in a defiant tone. "He sided with Carlos during your first custody fight with him. And I happen to know su novio was quite the player…not that long ago, I might add."_

_Elena didn't give much credence to Bianca's comments about Danny's friendship with Carlos, but the last comment perked Elena's interest. Danny was notoriously cagey about his previous relationships. He was always honest and would answer direct questions, but never wanted to elaborate – always telling her that he didn't like to dwell on the past. _

_Seeing that Elena's eyebrows raised at the "player" comment, Bianca elaborated, "A few years ago, your 'tall dark and handsome' dated an ADA that I worked with on a couple of drug cases. She was crazy about him. Things were hot and heavy for a couple of months, but when she asked him to go to a wedding with her – he told her that things were moving too fast, even though he'd been banging her since their first date. Then not two weeks after he broke it off with her, she ran into him at a club where he was clearly hooking up with a girl who wasn't more than 22."_

_Elena smiled as she shook her head. "Bianca, he was single for a long time. I'm sure he had lots of relationships. I'm not saying he's perfect. And I know for sure, he's had his share of issues. All I can base my opinion on is how he is with me and Sophie. He's more than committed. Honestly, I'm the one who feels hesitant. I'm the one who's scared of going too fast."_

"_What about the fact that he wrote that letter for Carlos? Huh?" Bianca asked, leaning forward. "After what Carlos did to you? What he put you through? How can you just forget about that, mamita?"_

"_I didn't forget. And Danny feels awful that he wrote that letter. But Bianca, he didn't know. I never got that restraining order after Carlos hit me. Carlos agreed to leave and I didn't want to put myself or Sophie through a big legal ordeal. Looking back, that was incredibly stupid, but I just wanted to move on. You know Carlos. You know how convincing and charming he can be. Danny didn't know what was happening. He just thought he was helping out a friend."_

"_But he knows what Carlos did now?"_

_Elena nodded. "I told him right after we first got together. I just needed him to know the whole story. He was livid. And he felt horrible for supporting Carlos. When Carlos took Sophie, Danny had the opportunity to take Carlos out. I remember seeing him in that house with his gun raised. But I stopped him and our boss stopped him from doing it," she explained._

"_Well I wish you and your boss hadn't stopped him. Now I have a lot more respect por su novio."_

_Smiling, Elena raised her glass of wine. "Finally, I say something that convinces you to like him."_

_Bianca shrugged. "Gotta like a guy who would consider taking out an abusive asshole."_

"_Well, there's a lot more to like about him than just that," Elena responded pensively, imagining his face in her mind. "He's amazing. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop…to find out something about him that I can't handle…or for him to let me down like Carlos so often use to..."_

"_Like I said, 'prince charming'," Bianca joked. _

"_No, like I said, he's not perfect. We fight sometimes. He can be stubborn. But he's also dependable and has a really good heart."_

"_Dependable? Good heart? Maybe I was wrong about him being a player," she said a she mockingly yawned, as though she was saying that Danny was boring._

_Rolling her eyes again, Elena threw a balled up cocktail napkin across the table. "I happen to find those qualities incredibly sexy. And everything else about him is sexy as well," she said as she took another sip of her wine. _

"_Mmmmm, really?" Bianca replied, loving that Elena took the bait. "So what is he like in bed? I hear Cuban men have great rhythm—"_

_Elena blushed. "You're awful. I'm not answering that…except to say that I'm very happy…and incredibly...satisfied...for the first time in a very, very long time."_

_Bianca laughed. "Well good, mamita. I'm happy for you and for Sophie. You've really turned your life around. I envy that," she said with a hint of sadness in her tone. _

Elena rubbed her temples as she thought about the last time she talked to Bianca. She should have kept in better touch with her, but things had become so good with Danny that she just didn't want to be reminded of what her life had been like when she'd worked with Bianca.

Sitting down in her desk chair, she opened a file to continuing looking for something…anything to help her track down her friend. As she sighed heavily, her cell phone rang. Looking at the display, she smiled slightly when she saw Danny's name.

"Delgado," she answered.

"Hey, are you in the building?" he asked abruptly.

"Yeah, I'm at my desk. Why? Did you find—"

"NYPD just brought me the tape from Bianca's boyfriend's apartment…the one he saw her rip up. Lucy just called me. She may have been able to restore some of the footage. Meet me in the tech room?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute," she said as she rose from her desk quickly.

As Elena walked out of the bullpen, she ran into an agent who gave her an update on some of Bianca's cell phone records she'd been waiting for. After she finished with the agent, she made her way down the hall. Approaching the tech room, she opened the door. Danny turned towards her. Instead of seeing his normal welcoming, supportive expression, he looked worried and unsure. Then she looked at the monitor and saw the still image of herself in the all-to-familiar interview room where Bianca had gone too far with their suspect a few years ago. The missing pieces of Bianca's disappearance suddenly started to fall in to place. Looking back at Danny who now had a thoughtful, concerned expression, she fought to contain her emotions. "I...um...I can explain..."


End file.
